Obradovich: Another dust-up in Iowa over young gays

Mar. 30, 2013

Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, a conservative Christian organization, spoke to a crowd at the State Capitol building in Des Moines on March 20, 2012. The rally was held in an attempt to convince legislators to take up a proposal prohibiting same-sex marriages. (Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

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During a week of national discussion over same-sex marriage, it was no surprise that religious conservatives in Iowa seized the chance to stand up for their values. The Family Leader and a group of lawmakers held a news conference on Thursday.

The surprise was that the topic wasn’t a defense of traditional, one-man, one-woman marriage. Instead, the group launched an attack against an annual conference aimed at preventing bullying of youth based on their sexual orientation.

The Iowa Governor’s Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth will be this week in Altoona. The conference is not sponsored by Gov. Terry Branstad, but he decided after taking office to allow the “governor’s conference” designation to continue in light of his interest in preventing bullying.

The conference has a variety of business and nonprofit sponsors, including the Diversity Committee of Des Moines Area Community College. The committee reportedly contributed $1,000 to buy tickets so students could attend the event.

The Family Leader denounced the conference, which includes a workshop referring to the “big bad right wing” and names Bob Vander Plaats, the group’s CEO. Sixteen Republican state legislators said they would try to strip state money from the community college unless it withholds tax money from next week’s conference.

“We cannot in good conscience vote to give taxpayer dollars to people or groups who pervert the Bible (and) teach our youth to engage in dangerous behavior,” the legislators’ statement says. Chuck Hurley of the Family Leader tossed around the word “evil.”

Iowa Safe Schools, the presenter of the conference, shot back that the Family Leader was being “mean-spirited” and the conference was intended to make students safer, not put them in danger.

What a fine example these adults set for the kids on how to disagree without insults and name-calling.

DMACC is in no danger of losing state money over this. House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, emphasized support for community colleges Friday and noted that lawmakers fund the entire system, not individual colleges.

The political stakes for this issue are higher than just a schoolyard brawl over ideology, however.

The governor’s anti-bullying legislation, which came out of a summit last year, is stalled in the Republican-controlled House. Heightened controversy over the goals and focus of this week’s conference won’t improve the bill’s chances.

The dust-up is another opportunity for the Family Leader to portray Branstad as something less than a true conservative. If Branstad seeks re-election, he’ll likely face another primary challenge from the religious right. At a time when segments of the GOP are vocally rejecting the marriage agenda, this shifts the focus to what’s happening in schools.

However, it comes as Family Leader board member Robert Cramer of Grimes is up for confirmation to the Iowa Board of Regents. At a time when Democratic senators are sensitive to perceived attacks on academic freedom, the threats against DMACC won’t go unnoticed. Cramer was probably toast already, but this issue pours the gravy on top.

Iowa got a black eye last year when schools here were featured in a documentary film “Bully.” Anti-bully efforts get tagged as a “gay agenda” because they acknowledge most victims are targeted for their perceived sexual orientation. But we’ve seen the tragic consequences if bullying is left unchecked, including former victims whose final act is a deadly rampage.

Instead of joining the brawl for their own political motives, lawmakers should refocus on what really matters: keeping schools safe for everybody.